Paying Someone Else's Price
by JasonMorganfan87
Summary: After going out with Tony, Tim wakes up two days later with no memory of those two days. What happened to him during that time and why was he targetted? Does someone have something against hiim or was he simpy revenge against someone else?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its characters.**

**Paying Someone Else's Price**

Timothy McGee sat on a bar stool next to his partner Anthony DiNozzo. He hadn't really wanted to come, but Tony had somehow roped him into it like he always did.

"Come on, Probie, loosen up. It shouldn't be that big a chore," Tony joked.

"Tony, I shouldn't be here. I have to be up at the crack of dawn to go help Abby," Tim said. Abby was helping a friend move and he told her he'd help as well.

"So you'll just regret it later. That's how drinking works. It's part of the fun," Tony said with a grin.

Just then, the bartender came over and placed a mixed drink in front of Tim.

"Uh, I didn't order this," Tim said.

"Courtesy of the lady behind you, Buddy," the bartender said.

Tony and Tim both turned to see a young brunette at the table behind them smiling. "No way. Are you sure you didn't mean me," Tony asked the bartender.

Tim rolled his eyes and pushed the drink towards the bartender. "Tell her thanks, but no thanks."

Tony immediately smacked him on the back of the head.

"Ow! Tony, what the hell?" Tim asked while glaring.

"Don't be stupid, McGrumpy. A beautiful woman just bought you a drink. Now take it and go over there.

Tim hesitated. He didn't have great luck with women. He hadn't been with anyone since Amanda and she turned out to be an assassin. "I don't know."

"What's to know, Probie? A beautiful woman wants you. This might never happen again in your life," Tony said jokingly.

"Well, I suppose having a drink with her won't hurt anything," Tim said. Really, what was the worst that could happen? It couldn't get much worse than an assassin.

Tony clapped him on the back. "That's the spirit, McLucky. Now get out of here."

Tim smiled before grabbing his drink and going to meet his new admirer.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Less than an hour later, Tim was staggered out of the bar in a haze. He felt extremely dizzy and he could barely walk. He didn't know what happened. One minute he was talking to this woman and then he was feeling like he drank most of the bar.

Tim walked, well, more like stumbled over to a bench right outside the bar and basically fell onto it. He put his head in his hands and tried to think about how this could've happened so quickly. The problem was he couldn't really think. He was getting more and more disoriented by the second.

Tim soon looked up to see someone in front of him. He vaguely recognized her as the woman he was with earlier.

"You okay there, Handsome," the woman asked.

"I…I don't know. I don't feel right," Tim said.

The woman immediately grabbed his arm to help him up. "Don't worry. I'll take good care of you."

Tim couldn't do anything but let her lead him away. He was in too much of a haze to think properly, let alone realize that going with this woman might be a very bad idea.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim woke up to find himself in his room at home. He sat up and looked around in confusion. How had he gotten here? The last thing he remembered was being at the bar with Tony. Well, actually Tony had left before him with some girl. He'd stayed with his own girl. But he didn't remember leaving. He couldn't pinpoint exactly what he last remembered, but coming home was definitely a blank.

Tim didn't have much time to contemplate it because his phone soon began to ring. He grabbed it out of his pocket, which, he just realized he was fully clothed, and answered it. "Hello?"

Tim immediately recognized Tony's voice. _"Probie, where the hell are you? Gibbs is pissed as hell!"_

"What?" Tim asked in confusion. Why would his boss by mad? He hadn't done anything.

"_You're three hours late. You'd better get in here before he goes over there and kills you where there are no witnesses," _Tony said

"What the hell are you talking about? It's Saturday," Tim said. They didn't work today. It was the weekend and they weren't on call. What kind of game was Tony playing?

"_What are you smoking, Probie, it's Monday,"_ Tony spoke as though Tim had lost his mind.

Tim gaped in shock. Monday? How could it be Monday? It had been Friday when he had gone to the bar with Tony. There was no way he could've slept for two days straight. He didn't care how much he drank. Tony had to be messing with him. It was the only explanation, and it wasn't like Tony wasn't capable of it. "Very funny, DiNozzo. Look, I'm not in the mood, okay?"

"_Mood? What…?"_ Tony trailed off and there was a shuffle with the phone. Soon Gibbs' voice could be heard. "_McGee, if your ass is not in this building in the next half hour, I will have you pushing paperwork for the rest of your life!"_

Tim soon heard the 'click', indicating that Gibbs had hung up. Apparently it wasn't a joke. Somehow he'd lost the last two days. He didn't understand how though. Everything inside him screamed that yesterday was Friday. He was even wearing the same clothes from Friday. Yet somehow it was Monday. How was that possible?

Tim shrugged off the questions. He didn't have time to contemplate them right now. If he didn't get to work soon, Gibbs would surely kill him. Hell, he might kill him anyway just on principle.

Tim quickly got up and showered. He then got dressed, grabbed his gear and headed out the door. Even as he left though, one question remained on his mind. What the hell happened to him this weekend?


	2. Chapter 2

Tim made it into the bullpen about five minutes before the deadline Gibbs had given him. He looked around and saw that thankfully Gibbs wasn't there.

Tony was though and smiled at him mischievously. "Hey, McDeadMan. You got your affairs in order."

"I'm not in the mood, Tony," Tim said as he went to his desk. He had a bit of a headache and he felt nauseous. Honestly, he felt like he was hung over. He didn't see how though. The last time he remembered drinking was with Tony on Friday night. Actually, that was the last time he remembered anything

"Are you alright, McGee? You do not look well and you are never this late," Ziva said. Actually, he was early most days. The last time he had been late was years ago when they had been called in on the weekend because of a kidnapped woman.

"I'm fine, Ziva," Tim assured him.

"Not when Gibbs and Abby get ahold of you," Tony said with a smirk.

"Abby. What?" Tim asked. Then he remembered. He was supposed to help Abby Saturday, which apparently had been two days ago. She was going to kill him, maybe even worse than Gibbs.

Suddenly there was a 'ding' from Tony's computer. "Ooh, an email." He was about to open it when he noticed Gibbs walk in.

Gibbs strode through the bullpen and over to Tim's desk. He slammed his hands down on it and loomed over it. "Where the hell have you been?"

"Boss, I'm so sorry. I overslept," Tim said. It wasn't exactly a lie. He did oversleep. He decided to leave out the two day blackout. Gibbs either wouldn't believe him or he'd overreact to it. Tim didn't want either of those things right now.

"You overslept. You overslept?! That's your answer?" Gibbs asked angrily. Needless to say he was not impressed.

Tim gulped. "I…It won't happen again, Boss."

"Oh, you're damned right it won't. You're working cold cases for the rest of the week and you'll be on every weekend for the next month. Got it?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, Boss," Tim said.

Gibbs took another minute to glare at his agent before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

At around lunchtime, Tim went down to Autopsy to see Ducky. It was really the only chance he had to get away. Gibbs had pretty much kept him chained to his desk beforehand.

Ducky was working on an autopsy when he noticed Tim. "Ah, Timothy. Good to see you, lad. I hear you're in the doghouse this morning."

"Oh, you could say that. Gibbs is ready to kill me and I'm sure Abby is too," Tim said. He had been avoiding Abby, so he didn't know for sure how angry she was, but he was sure it was epic.

"Well, I'm sure they'll forgive you in no time," Ducky said.

"Yeah, I'm sure. Listen, Ducky, can I ask you a hypothetical question?" Tim asked. He wanted to find out what could cause his memory loss, but he didn't want to make a big deal out of it.

"Of course. Fire away," Ducky said.

"What could cause someone to block out days at a time?" Tim asked.

"Well, a number of things can do that, but barring any medical conditions, it's usually drug or alcohol abuse. Why are you asking this anyway?" Ducky asked. He had a feeling it wasn't as hypothetical as the younger man was trying to make it sound like.

Tim sighed. "I can't remember the last two days."

Ducky stopped what he was doing immediately and approached Tim. "What do you mean? You have missing spots in your memory of the last couple of days?"

"No. I mean I went out with Tony on Friday and I woke up this morning thinking it was Saturday," Tim explained.

"Get on one of the tables. I'm going to draw some blood," Ducky said urgently.

"No, Ducky, that's not necessary. I'm fine," Tim said. This was why he didn't want to tell Ducky. He knew the man would make a big deal out of nothing.

"Timothy, you have lost full days out of your memory. That is not normal. We need to get to the bottom of what is going on now. I cannot allow something this serious to go without finding out what is causing it," Ducky said.

"Could it really be that bad?" Tim asked a bit nervously.

"It's not a risk I want to take. Now get on a table. I'm going to go get the required tools," Ducky said before disappearing into his office.

Tim took his jacket off and rolled up his right arm sleeve before jumping up on the table.

Ducky came back seconds later with the proper equipment to take blood. "What exactly is the last thing you remember," he asked as he tapped Tim's vein.

"Uh, I was at the bar with Tony. Then this girl bought me a drink and I joined her at her table," Tim said as he felt the needle go through his arm.

Ducky froze for a minute as the implications of that became clear to him. He quickly covered it up though. There was no reason to work the young man before they knew for sure what was going on. "Do you remember leaving the bar?"

"No. And I don't remember going home either, but somehow I ended up there," Tim said.

"What about Tony? Do you remember him leaving?" Ducky asked.

"Yeah, he left not too long after I joined the girl. God, I don't even remember her name. Wow, I sound just like Tony now," Tim commented.

"And how did you feel when you woke up this morning?" Ducky asked.

"Well, I didn't really have time to figure that out because Tony called almost right away, but after I got here, I noticed that I felt a little hung over. I had a headache. I don't think I would drink on a Sunday though," Tim said.

Ducky sighed inwardly as he finished the blood and took the needle out of Tim's arm. The more he heard, the less he liked. None of this boded well for his young friend. "Alright, I'm going to send this to Abby and have her rush the results. She's not doing anything pressing today, so hopefully we'll have them by the end of the day."

"Okay, but can you not tell her what it's for?" Tim asked. The last thing he needed was it getting around that he was having tests done. That would just freak everyone out and that was the last thing he wanted.

"Of course. We can keep this between the two of us," Ducky promised.

Tim smiled and got up off the table. "Thanks, Ducky. Well, I better get back to work now before Gibbs really does kill me."

"Of course. I'll call you as soon as the results are in," Ducky said.

Tim nodded and headed for the elevator.

Ducky waited for him to leave and then stared at the vial in his hand. "For your sake, Timothy, I hope I'm wrong."


	3. Chapter 3

After leaving Autopsy, Tim headed right back up to the bullpen. Unfortunately, Abby was waiting for him as soon as the elevator doors opened. How she knew he would be coming, he had no idea, but she looked furious. "Abby."

"Hey there, McGee. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were avoiding me,"

"Abby, I can explain," Tim said. Well, actually he couldn't explain. All he could really explain was that he couldn't explain, and he didn't want to explain that because he didn't want her to overreact.

Abby raised an eyebrow. "Really? You can explain why you totally blew me off?"

"I didn't mean to blow you off, Abby, I swear. Look, it's complicated," Tim said.

"Oh, I don't think it's so complicated. Our plans just weren't important enough for you to remember," Abby said.

"No, it wasn't like that. Look, can we talk about this later?" Tim asked as he looked around. He really did not want to have this conversation in front of all of NCIS.

"Nothing to discuss. I just have to come to terms with the fact that I can't depend on you," Abby said.

"You know that's not true," Tim said. That had been a blow to him. Hearing Abby say she couldn't' count on him had cut him deeply. He had always been there for her. He missed one day and it wasn't even his fault. He couldn't help that something this strange had happened to him.

Just then Gibbs approached the three of them and glared at Tim. "Is there a reason you're not at your desk working."

Tim sighed. "Heading there now, Boss," he said before walking away.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

At around five that night, Tim was at his desk working. He'd thankfully managed to avoid anymore confrontations with Gibbs or Abby. The rest of the day had gone relatively quietly, which was pretty surprising considering Tony was on the team. He knew he was in trouble when even Tony stayed quiet.

The silence was soon interrupted by Tim's phone ringing. He immediately picked it up. "McGee."

"_Timothy, I need to see you,"_ Ducky said. His voice was very quiet and sullen.

Tim hesitated. He wasn't sure if that was such a good idea. If Gibbs got back from his coffee break to find him missing, he would not be happy. "Uh, can it wait until we're done here? I'm not sure I should leave here right now."

"_No, it can't. I need to see you immediately,"_ Ducky said.

Tim got a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't going to be good. He'd already guessed that it was about the blood test he'd taken earlier, but now he was positive that it was bad news. "Okay. I'll be right there." He hung up the phone and stood up.

"Whoa, you're not leaving are you, Probie? What do you have a death wish?" Tony asked.

"I'm going to see Ducky," Tim said in a low, shaky voice before heading for the elevator.

"What is with him?" Ziva asked.

Tony shrugged. "I don't know. He's been acting weird all day. I wonder if it has anything to do with that girl from the bar. Oh, that reminds me."

"Reminds you of what?" Ziva asked curiously.

"When McDull and I went out Friday, I hit it off with this smoking hot chick. She said she was going to send me something I'd like via email." Tony said excitedly. He opened up his email account and clicked on the one he'd gotten that morning. "Ooh, it's a video."

"If I were you, I would not open that while you are at work. Gibbs will shave you alive," Ziva said.

"Skin, Ziva. He will _skin_ me alive, and no he won't because he won't find out. It'll only take like a minute," Tony said before opening the video and pressing play.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim made his way through Autopsy and into Ducky's office. He knocked on the open door.

Ducky looked up from his desk. "Come on in, Timothy. Have a seat."

"Is this about my test results? Did they come in?" Tim asked as he walked further into the room.

Ducky nodded grimly. "Yes. I received the results just before I called you. Sit down."

"I think I'd rather stand. What's wrong with me," Tim asked. Fear was beginning to creep around every inch of his body. It seemed that this was a big deal after all.

"You need to sit, Timothy. What I'm about to tell you isn't going to be easy for you to hear," Ducky said. That was an understatement if ever one existed. This was going to devastate the young man, as it did most people who found themselves in his position.

Tim took a deep breath and slowly walked over to the front of Ducky's desk before sitting down in the chair in front of it.

"The first thing I need you to understand is that this isn't your fault. Once it happened, there was absolutely nothing you could've done to stop it," Ducky said.

"Ducky, you're scaring me. Am I sick or something?" Tim asked.

"No. I never thought you were sick. I did, however, have a good idea of what was wrong when I heard your story about the bar. I'm sorry to say that I was right," Ducky said sadly. He had prayed to be wrong about this. He'd prayed all day that the results would say something completely different. But they didn't.

"Just say it, Ducky, please," Tim practically begged. He couldn't take it anymore. The unknown was scaring him more than anything else at the moment.

Ducky sighed. He decided that the only way to tell him was to just say it and get it over with. "Abby found traces of Rohypnol in your bloodstream."

"R…Rohypnol. Suddenly he was glad to be sitting. He was sure that his legs would've given out on him if he wasn't. He knew what Ducky was trying to tell him. He knew what that drug and what did, both what it was originally intended for and what many used it for. Rohypnol, also known as the date rape drug.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony stared at his computer screen. It was like he was frozen there. He couldn't move or speak. Hell, he couldn't even delete the truly sickening piece of garbage that was currently on his computer. All he could do was watch it in horror. He felt like he was going to be sick. What kind of person did this and recorded it?

Ziva looked over and saw the look on Tony's face. It was a mixture of shock, horror, and nausea. "Tony, are you alright?"

Tony didn't answer her. He couldn't. There were no words to describe what he was thinking or feeling right now.

Ziva got worried when she didn't get an answer and immediately got up and went over to him. When she saw the monstrosity that Tony was watching, she gasped in horror. "Oh my God!"


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs made his way into the bullpen to find Tony and Ziva huddled over Tony's computer and McGee nowhere to be found. "What the hell are the two of you doing? And where is McGee?

Tony turned to his boss and opened his mouth to speak, but found that he couldn't form words. Really, what could he say? How could he explain what he'd just seen and what he was still seeing happen to his partner?

Gibbs frowned at the look on his senior field agent's face and walked over to them. He leaned down was confronted with exactly what was causing his agents such distress. He too was horrified by what he saw. McGee was laying on a bed naked with two women all over him. That wasn't what horrified him though. It wasn't exactly a position he wanted to see any of his agents in, but what was truly horrifying him was the fact that his agent seemed completely oblivious to his surroundings. His eyes were glossed over and he looked like he was going to pass out at any moment. He was in absolutely no position to consent to what was happening to him on that video.

Gibbs immediately reached over Tony and stopped the video. If he watched even one more minute of this horror show, he was going to be sick. "Where'd you get this, Tony?"

Tony didn't say anything. He still hadn't regained his voice.

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled.

Tony snapped his head up to meet Gibbs'. "Huh?"

"Where did you get this piece of garbage?" Gibbs asked again.

"I…It was emailed to me," Tony finally said.

"Can anyone else see it?" Gibbs asked. He prayed to God the answer was no. It was bad enough that this happened and that whoever was responsible was actually sick enough to video tape it, but the last thing McGee needed was the entire world being able to see it.

"I don't think so. I think it was uploaded and just sent to me," Tony said.

"Get rid of it. I want that thing gone!" Gibbs said loudly.

"Gibbs, we cannot delete it," Ziva said.

Gibbs narrowed his eyes at her. "Excuse me?"

"What happened on that video… If it was real, it… It was…" Ziva couldn't even bring herself to say the word. She knew if she did, it would become all that much more real.

"I know what it was! That's why I want the thing destroyed!" Gibbs yelled.

"But it is evidence of a crime! It is the only thing that proves that it happened," Ziva said. She understood why Gibbs wanted it gone of course, but she also realized that if they had any prayer of making those animals that called themselves women pay, they were going to need that tape to do it.

Gibbs could've slapped himself upside the head for not realizing that. He just couldn't think about anything but the fact that his agent had been violated so grievously. He hadn't been able to think about the fact that by getting rid of that sickening piece of garbage that he'd be getting rid of Tim's chance for justice.

Gibbs sighed and tried to think about what to do next. After a minute, he turned back to his agents. "Alright, get that thing off the screen and then both of you to the conference room." He was not going to have this conversation out in the open any longer. This was not something that the whole bullpen was going to get to hear about.

Tony immediately closed the video and followed Gibbs and Ziva towards the conference room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tim felt like he was going to be sick. His stomach was doing backflips, his palms were sweating and his heart was beating so fast that he felt like it was going to come out of his chest. Of all the things he imagined being responsible, this wasn't even in the ballpark. And it was far worse than his brain could even come up with.

"Timothy, say something," Ducky said.

Tim shook his head. "No. No, it can't be true. I'd know if something like that happened to me." He would know somehow. Something like that couldn't happen to him without him knowing.

"No, Timothy, you wouldn't. That is what is so frightening about this particular drug and it is the reason it is used. Rohypnol leaves the victim with no memory of what transpired while they are under the influence of it.

'I know, but I would still know, wouldn't I? I would feel it. I would feel something," Tim said. He hadn't felt anything. He had no indication that anything had happened to him these last couple of days. He'd felt perfectly fine until now. Now he felt disgusting. He felt violated. And if Ducky was right about all this, he was.

Ducky shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Timothy, but this kind of thing happens all the time and most of people it happens to never have a clue unless they are tested and the drug is found in their systems."

"B…but we don't know that it happened, right? Maybe nothing happened," Tim said. He knew he was grasping at straws. After all, why would anyone use the date rape drug on him without doing anything? Still, he had to try. He had to hang onto something that meant that this awful thing did not happen to him.

"Timothy, what you described happening at the bar is exactly how things like this usually happens. I believe that whomever you were with that night spiked your drink and then…"

"Oh God," Tim said before getting up and bolting for the door. He made it into the autopsy room and over to the wastebasket before emptying the contents of his stomach into it.

Ducky came out and placed his hand on Tim's back. If possible, he wanted to offer him some kind of comfort.

Once he was done, Tim pressed his back to the wall and slid to the floor and placed his head in his hands. He couldn't believe this was happening. Why? Why would someone do this to him?

Ducky crouched down so that they were at the same level. "Timothy, I know that you are in turmoil right now, but we need to get you to a hospital. You need to be examined."

Tim shook his head vigorously. "No. No! I don't want anyone else to know about this."

"I know that, but you cannot just ignore this. Even if you choose not to file charges, you need to be examined to confirm that it did indeed happen and you also need to be tested for STD's," Ducky said.

Ducky's words made it all so real for Tim. 'Examined', 'STD's'. He was raped. "Oh God. This can't be happening."

"I know, son. I know this is not something you even want to think about, but you have to. Ignoring it is not an option," Ducky said before standing up and helping Tim to his feet as well. "Come on. I will take you to the hospital."

"Not seeing much other choice," Tim allowed the man to lead him away.


	5. Chapter 5

Once everyone was in the conference room, Gibbs closed the door. There was a cold, dead silence between the three agents for several minutes. None of them had any idea what to say next.

Finally Gibbs spoke in a quiet voice. "Who sent the video, Tony?"

"I think it was this girl that I picked up Friday night," Tony said.

"What makes you think that?" Gibbs asked.

"Because she said she was sending me something I'd never forget today. A…and she was one of the women on the tape," Tony said shakily. The very thought of it unnerved him to the core. He'd gone out with a woman who after being with him, participated in the gang rape of his partner.

"So this wasn't random then. They targeted him," Gibbs said.

"I'm sorry, Boss. It's my fault. We went out drinking Friday. He didn't want to go, but I pressured him until he agreed. Then this girl bought him a drink and I convinced him to go with her. And if all that isn't enough, when I met that… that bitch, I left him," Tony said guiltily. He would never forgive himself for this. He'd broken rule number one. He screwed over his partner. He hadn't meant to do it, but that mattered very little right now.

"You could not have known, Tony," Ziva said.

"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I left him alone to be violated in the worst possible way imaginable. I didn't even call to make sure he made it home okay. If I had, he wouldn't have answered, and maybe then, I would've realized something was wrong and I could've stopped at least some of it," Tony said.

"It was probably over by then," Ziva said.

"No. Didn't you see the time stamps on the video? It was dated throughout the weekend. This happened over and over and over again," Tony said. Every time he thought about it, it made him sick to his stomach. Why had these women done this? Why would they violate the kindest most trusting man there was in the world?

"He must not know what happened. He would not be so together if he knew," Ziva said. She had never been thought what McGee had, but she knew that he could not possibly act so normal if he knew what happened to him. Somehow by the grace of God, he was spared from those memories.

"It makes sense. He said he woke up this morning thinking it was Saturday. God, that should've been my first clue that something wasn't right," Tony said. People didn't randomly forget whole days. He should've known then that something was amiss.

Gibbs closed his eyes sadly as guilt began to hit him as well. He'd given McGee such a hard time for being late this morning. He barely even let the kid leave his desk. He'd punished a man who'd spent the majority of his weekend being sexually assaulted. "Where is he now?"

"With Ducky. He went down right before I opened the video. Thank goodness for small favors, right?" Tony asked.

Gibbs nodded. He would have to find him. Tim needed to go to the hospital ASAP. "Alright, Tony, I want you to find out the origins of that tape and I want to know who those women were as well as the camera man or woman. Find them!"

"Boss, that's not really my forte. I mean, usually McGee…" Tony trailed off as the reality of the situation became clear to him once more. "Right. I'll get right on it, Boss," he said before leaving the room.

Ziva moved to follow him, but Gibbs grabbed her arm to stop her. "Ziva, I want you to look into everyone who has a personal grudge against Tony. "

Ziva frowned. "You mean McGee, yes?"

"No," Gibbs said simply. "The tape was sent to Tony. Not you, not me, not McGee, Tony. There's a reason for that. I want to know what it was."

"You think this was about Tony?" Ziva asked. That would devastate him. He already blamed himself for not being able to stop what happened to McGee. If this turned out to be all about him, it would kill him.

"Just find out," Gibbs ordered.

"Yes, Gibbs. What about McGee?" Ziva asked.

That was a loaded question. What about McGee. How were they going to get him though this? Gibbs didn't know. Honestly, if he could, he would keep it from McGee. He didn't know that anything was wrong yet and Gibbs wished he could keep it that way. Unfortunately, he'd be risking McGee's physical health if he did that. He had to be examined by a doctor and given tests for STDs. Rapists didn't tend to use protection when they assaulted someone. "I'll take care of McGee. Just go do what I asked."

Ziva nodded and left the room.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ducky entered the room Tim had placed in. He'd left while the doctor had done the rape kit so that he could give him privacy. He figured the poor boy had been violated enough. "How are you doing, lad?"

Tim shrugged. "I just had some stranger violate the most intimate part of my body. But I guess it wasn't the first time, was it?"

Ducky placed his hand on top of Tim's. "I'm so sorry, Timothy. This should not have happened to you."

"I just don't understand it. Why? Why would someone do this to me?" Tim asked. He couldn't think of anybody he'd pissed off enough to do this to him. Who hated him so much that they would commit the vilest act in the world against him? He would've preferred they'd killed him to this.

Ducky shook his head sadly. "I wish I had an answer for you. Some people just live to hurt others. Unfortunately, it seems you've crossed paths with one of them."

"I…I don't know how to deal with this. How am I supposed to live with this?" Tim asked, his voice cracking.

"You'll find a way, Timothy. I know you will," Ducky said. Just then his phone rang. He took it out and saw that it was Gibbs. "It's Jethro."

Tim shook his head wildly. "No, Ducky, please don't tell him."

"Of course not, Timothy. I would never betray your trust like that. However, I will have to answer or he will not leave us alone until I do," Ducky said.

Tim nodded.

Ducky immediately answered the phone and put it to his ear. "Hello, Jethro. I'm afraid you've caught me at a bad time. I'll have to call you back later."

"_Where's McGee, Ducky? Tony and Ziva say he's with you," _Gibbs said.

"He is. That's all I will tell you," Ducky said firmly.

"_Ducky, this is important. I need to see him. Where are you? I know you're not in autopsy because I just checked there," _Gibbs said.

"I'm sorry, Jethro, but I can't help you right now," Ducky said.

"_Ducky, this is not a game! McGee needs to go to the hospital!" _ Gibbs yelled in exasperation.

It was when that Ducky realized that Gibbs knew. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. "It has been taken care of."

There was silence between the two men for a few minutes before Gibbs replied, "Okay. Take care of him, Duck."

"I intend to," Ducky said before hanging up the phone.

"Well?" Tim asked anxiously. Gibbs probably knew he was missing by now and was demanding he go back.

"Everything is fine, Timothy. Now I am going to and see about getting you discharged," Ducky said before standing up and heading out the door.


	6. Chapter 6

After leaving the hospital, Ducky took Tim back to his house. He refused to allow him to return to an empty apartment by himself. The last thing the poor boy needed was to be alone right now.

"This wasn't necessary, Ducky. I could've gone home," Tim said.

"Out of the question, Timothy. I am not going to leave you alone to deal with this," Ducky said before leading him into the living room and helping him to the couch. He then sat down next to him.

"I don't want to deal with it at all. I wish I had never agreed to that blood test," Tim said. Everything was fine until he got the results of that test. Well, okay, it wasn't fine, but he thought it was. True, he couldn't remember anything and the frustrated him and worried him a little, but it was better than this. He didn't want to know this. He wanted to go back to being completely oblivious to it.

"No, Timothy, that test had to happen. It had to happen so that we could make sure you were alright," Ducky said.

"But I'm not alright. I feel like this whole thing is going to eat me alive. I don't know what to do. I keep thinking about it and I keep wondering what happened. Why didn't I do anything to stop it?" Tim asked as guilt started to sink in. He knew it wasn't logical, but he couldn't help but blame himself. He should've stopped it. He should have done something. The worst part was that he didn't even know if he tried because he couldn't remember.

"Timothy, no! Now blaming yourself is a natural reaction for rape victims, but it also a wrong one. You are not responsible for what happened. You were drugged. It's possible that you weren't even conscious for most of what happened," Ducky said. The drug Timothy had been given had the ability to render someone completely unconscious, and even if it hadn't, he would've been so out of it that he wouldn't have even realized what was happening.

"Then I should've been more careful about what I was drinking that night. I shouldn't have taken that drink from that woman. God, I shouldn't have been there at all! I didn't want to go. I went because Tony kept pressuring me. Why couldn't I just say no for once?" Tim asked. He really wished he hadn't succumbed to Tony's antics again. Why was he always letting him get to him? He should've said no then so he wouldn't have had to worry about being able no later.

"Timothy, stop! Stop blaming yourself. This is not your fault. The only people to blame are the ones who hurt you. Do not let them win by taking that blame on yourself," Ducky said.

"I can't help it. I feel like I should've done something to stop it," Tim said.

"Like what? You had no way of knowing that your drink had been tampered with. And once it had, there is absolutely nothing you could've done. That drug would've rendered incapable of doing almost anything," Ducky explained.

"I…I just feel like there must have been something I could've done. I know deep down that that's not logical, but I can't help it. I just wish this hadn't have happened," Tim said.

"As do I. Unfortunately, it did and you're going to have to find a way to live with it," Ducky said sadly.

"I don't know how," Tim said. His voice was vulnerable and shaky.

Ducky placed his hand on the younger man's shoulder. "You'll find a way, Timothy. I promise you, you will get through this."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs found himself on Ducky's doorstep late that night. He knocked on the door and waited for the man to answer. He wanted to find out how Tim was doing with everything.

Ducky opened the door a few seconds later. "Jethro, you shouldn't be here right now."

"Need to talk, Duck. Is he here?" Gibbs asked. He was almost certain that Tim was there. There was no way Ducky would let him go home alone after finding out that he'd just been raped.

"Yes. He's asleep in my guest room. Though how long that will last is anyone's guess," Ducky said. He doubted Timothy would sleep all that peacefully. How could he after what had happened to him.

Gibbs nodded. "I'm glad he's here. He shouldn't be alone right now."

Ducky walked outside and closed the door behind him. "How did you find out?"

Gibbs sighed. "DiNozzo got this video emailed to him and…"

"Oh, good Lord," Ducky interrupted. It wasn't hard for him to figure out. Whoever was responsible had actually been twisted enough to make a tape of what happened and taunt the team with it.

"Yeah. I gotta tell ya, Duck. I have seen some seriously messed up things in my life, but none of them compare to that tape. It was awful," Gibbs said.

"This is going to tear him apart," Ducky said. As if everything the poor boy was going through right now wasn't enough. Now he was going to have to deal with the fact that there was a tape of what occurred and that the people loves and trusts have seen it. "Please at least tell that this tape was not seen by anyone outside the team."

"No, it wasn't. Just Tony, Ziva, and myself," Gibbs assured him.

Ducky breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, that's something at least. It is still going to devastate him."

"How did you find out?" Gibbs wondered.

"Timothy told me that he couldn't recall the last couple of days. I insisted on running a blood test and found traces of a drug commonly used for date rape," Ducky explained.

"Yeah, I figured he had to be drugged. He was completely out of it on that tape. I could tell that he wasn't even capable of knowing what was going on, let alone consenting to it," Gibbs said.

"If it was sent to you, that means it has to do with the team, yes?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know for sure what it was about, but I'm going to find out. Nobody gets to do this to my people without suffering long and hard for it," Gibbs said firmly. He didn't care if it took the rest of his life, those two vile excuses for women would pay for what they did, as would anyone else that might have been involved.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Jethro. Make them pay," Ducky said steely. He wanted whoever did this to feel the kind of misery that Timothy was feeling right now. They deserved that and more.

"I will. Take care of him, Duck," Gibbs said.

"I will. Uh, I am going to try to get Timothy to stay home tomorrow. The last thing he needs is to be working, especially if all are going to be searching for people who did this," Ducky said.

"I agree. Tell him to take his time and come back when he's ready," Gibbs said.

Ducky nodded. "Alright, well, it has been a very trying day. I think I am going to try to get some sleep myself."

Gibbs nodded back and then headed towards his car.


	7. Chapter 7

Tim walked into Ducky's kitchen the next morning and saw him sat at the table with a cup of tea. "Good morning, Ducky."

Ducky looked up at the younger man. "Oh, Timothy, you're awake. Did you sleep well?"

"Better than I thought I would. When I woke up, I thought it was just a dream for a second. You have no idea how blissful those few seconds were," Tim said.

Ducky sighed sadly. "I wish it were a dream too, Timothy. I wouldn't wish this on anyone, let alone you." Out of everyone in the world, Timothy was the last person deserving of something like this happening to him. No one deserved it of course, but least of all him. He wouldn't hurt a fly, yet he seemed to always be the one people wanted to hurt the most. It wasn't fair.

"But it wasn't. It was real. I'm just going to have to accept that," Tim said more to himself than Ducky. As much as he wanted to pretend that none of this ever happened, he couldn't. He had been raped. He was going to have to deal with that fact. "Anyway, I need to get home. I need to get ready for work."

"You most certainly do not, Timothy, nor should you. You have had less than twenty-four hours to process what has happened to you. You need to take some time off," Ducky said.

"I can't. I was l…late yesterday and I left without even telling Gibbs. He's mad at me enough as it is. I don't want to make it any worse," Tim said. He couldn't take worse right now. He was hanging on by a thread as it was. He couldn't take anything else. He could come up with some excuse for why he left before being let go, but he wouldn't be able to explain not going in today without getting Gibbs full wrath and he just couldn't deal with that.

"He is not angry with you," Ducky assured him.

"Of course he is. I guess I can't really blame him. I was three hours late yesterday," Tim said.

"That was not your fault," Ducky said firmly.

"Well, Gibbs doesn't know that," Tim said. Honestly, a part of him still thought it was debatable on whether or not it was his fault, but he knew that wasn't something Ducky wanted to hear right now.

Ducky looked away and shifted a bit uncomfortably.

Tim's eyes widened in horror. "He doesn't, does he? You told him?!"

"No, of course not. I promised you I wouldn't and would never betray your trust by breaking that promise. But, yes, he does know," Ducky said.

"H…How?" Tim asked. He did not this. He did not want anyone else to know what happened to him, especially Gibbs. The man probably already saw him as weakling. The last thing he needed was the man thinking he couldn't even protect himself from being raped.

Ducky sighed. He was going to have to tell him everything. There was no use hiding it. He was going to find out sooner or later. It was better that he found out from a friend than some other way. "Sit down, Timothy."

Tim made his way over to the table and sat down across from Ducky.

"There is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to say it. The person or persons responsible for what happened to you were apparently not content to just violate you sexually. Last night, Anthony received a video via email," Ducky said.

"No!" Tim yelled out in horror. It was not hard to figure out where Ducky was going with this and it made him wasn't to kill himself. The idea of there being some video of what had been done to him was the most horrifying thing he could think of. It was even more horrifying to him than the event itself. At least before he could attempt to keep it to himself and he wouldn't have to deal with people actually seeing the awful way he was violated. "No, this can't be happening."

"Timothy, I'm sorry. I would give anything to be able to spare you this, but I can't," Ducky said sadly.

"Why? Why would they do this to me? Wasn't the act itself enough. Who actually hates me this much that they would rape me and make a video of it?" Tim asked before putting his head in his hands.

"I wish I had an answer for you. I can't imagine why anyone would do such a thing to you or anyone else. But you need to understand that no one blames you. We all know that this is not your fault," Ducky said. Actually there was one person who probably did blame him and that was Timothy himself. It was sad and wrong, but unfortunately not all that surprising that Timothy would blame himself for what happened to him.

"How many people have seen it?" Tim asked through a cracked voice.

"From what I understand, just Jethro, Ziva, and Anthony," Ducky told him.

"Oh, God," Tim cried. That was more than enough for his liking. How was he ever supposed to face his team again after this? They would never look at him the same after this. He would no longer be their partner or even the guy they made fun of. Now all he would be is the guy who let himself get raped.

"Timothy, it's going to be alright," Ducky promised. He had no idea how it would be okay, but he knew that in time it would. One way or another they would all find a way to get him through this.

Tim picked his head up to look at Ducky. "How? How in the world is anything going to be okay. I was raped and my entire team knows about it. They saw it. They know about it than I do! They'll never look at me the same way again."

"Timothy, they do not blame you," Ducky said again.

Tim shook his head. "They may say that, but they don't mean it. Deep down, they'll always believe that I should've stopped it. That I should've been strong enough to fight back. And they're right. I should've stopped it. I should've done something," Tim said guiltily.

"Timothy, you must stop doing this to yourself. What happened was not your fault. Do not allow these people, these monsters, to win by taking their guilt onto yourself," Ducky begged. He could not stand listening to the poor boy blame himself for the violent crime that was perpetrated against him. It wasn't right.

Tim shook his head and stood up. "I…I can't do this. I need to get out of here," he said before heading towards the door.

Ducky immediately got up to follow him. "Timothy, where are you going?"

"Home. I need to be alone," Tim said.

"I'll drive you," Ducky said. He wanted to stop the young man from leaving entirely, but he knew that he couldn't. Timothy seemed determined to leave.

"No, I'll walk. I need to clear my head," Tim said before walking out the door without giving Ducky the chance to argue.


	8. Chapter 8

Abby walked into her lab and found Tony asleep on the futon on the floor. "Tony? Tony!"

"Ah!" Tony yelled as he bolted up. He looked around and saw Abby. "Oh, hey, Abs."

"What are you doing here?" Abby asked.

"Gibbs made me come up to get some sleep," Tony said. He'd fought against the order ferociously, but as usual, Gibbs won.

"You were here all night? Do we have a case? Why didn't Gibbs tell me?" Abby asked a bit irritably. If there was a case, she should've been told so that she could've helped.

"No, not exactly. Look, I can't really get into it," Tony said. He was almost positive that McGee would not want Abby knowing and he was not going the choice to tell her away. His choices had been taken away enough recently.

Abby placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Why not?"

"Because it's not my story to tell. Look, I should head back. I'm supposed to be tracing a website," Tony said as he stood up from the mattress.

Abby frowned. "Isn't that McGee's job?"

Tony stiffened. "Not this time. Honestly, I don't think McGee's going to up to doing anything work related for a while."

Abby rolled her eyes. "So now he's blowing work off too. Can no one count on him anymore?"

"What the hell did you just say?" Tony asked. He was more than a little annoyed by that comment. The last thing McGee needed was one of his friends talking about him like this behind his back.

"Well, first he blows me off, then he shows up for work three hours late, and now he's not bothering to show up at all. I told him he was unreliable. I guess I was right," Abby said.

Tony felt anger build up inside of him. "How dare you say something like that? McGee, unreliable? Really? You can say that with a straight face after everything he's done for you?"

Abby looked at Tony in shock. She couldn't believe he was talking to her this way. No one ever talked to her this way. She was the favorite. She was the one everyone loved. "Tony…"

"You know, McGee has always been there for you! He has succumbed to your every whim, no matter how ridiculous it might be. My God, he even took in a freaking dog that nearly killed him to make you happy! And you have the nerve to say he's unreliable?!" Tony asked angrily. He couldn't believe the crap he was hearing. McGee had spent his weekend being violated in the worst possible way and Abby was acting like it was an inconvenience to her. And true, she didn't know what was going on, but she shouldn't have to. She should know that McGee wouldn't stand her up without a damn good reason.

"But he promised he'd come and he didn't," Abby protested.

"Did it ever occur to you why? Did you ever even think just for a second that maybe he was going through something that was more important? You know what? I'm getting out of here before I say something I regret," Tony said before storming towards the elevator, leaving a shocked Abby in his wake.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ziva was at her desk working vigorously to try to find out who had attacked McGee when Ducky made his way over. "Good morning, Ziva," the ME said.

Ziva looked up at him. "Oh, hi, Ducky."

"Is Jethro in yet?" Ducky asked.

"Yes, but he went to get coffee. Do you, uh… Do you know?" Ziva asked tentatively. She wasn't sure if he knew about McGee and if he didn't, she didn't want to betray her partner by telling him.

"Yes, my dear, I do," Ducky said sadly.

"Good because there is something I wanted to get your opinion on. McGee was… It happened to him over the entire weekend. We also know that he was drugged. Gibbs said it was with a drug called Rohypnol," Ziva said.

Ducky nodded. "I believe I know where you're going with this. I've been thinking about it as well. The effects of Rohypnol only lasts twenty-four hours at the most. Timothy must have been drugged several times."

"But from what I read, that can be extremely dangerous with this drug," Ziva said.

"Yes, it can if the dose is not given exactly right, which leads me to believe that whoever gave it to him has either done this many times before or they are in the medical profession," Ducky said.

Ziva cringed. "I was afraid you were going to say that. Gibbs believes that whoever did this may have done it to hurt Tony."

"Oh good Lord," Ducky said in horror. That was going to tear Anthony apart. He was probably already blaming himself because he was with Timothy the night it happened. Finding out that it may have happened by someone trying to get back at him was going to increase that guilt by ten.

"It gets worse. There is someone who knows about medicine that would have reason to hurt Tony," Ziva said.

"You are referring to Jeanne Benoit? You really think she would go this far?" Ducky asked. He knew that the young woman must have felt betrayed by Tony, but this was a bit much.

"She did try to set him up for murder. She is no telling what she's capable of. I am not saying she did it, but it is a possibility that we cannot ignore," Ziva said.

Just then Tony came through the bullpen looking none too pleased.

"Tony, are you alright?" Ziva asked.

"Let's just say that you should keep me away from Abby for a while and leave it at that!" Tony said angrily. He was still really pissed after his conversation with Abby. "Any leads?"

"No," Ziva lied. She was not going to tell Tony her theory until after she spoke with Gibbs about it.

"Well, I should get to Autopsy. I'd appreciate it if you'd send Gibbs my way when he gets in," Ducky said. He wanted to inform him of what happened with Timothy that morning.

Ziva nodded and watched as he left.


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs made his way into Autopsy. When he got there, he saw Ducky cleaning a bunch of tools. "Isn't that what Palmer's for?"

Ducky turned to his friend. "I wanted to keep busy. This was the best I could do in absence of a case."

"What are you even doing here, Duck? You should be with McGee. He shouldn't be alone right now and you're the one he seems to trust the most," Gibbs said.

"Yes, well, unfortunately, things took a turn for the worse. I was forced to tell Timothy about the video."

Gibbs sighed. He was actually hoping that could be put off for a while. He knew that it couldn't have possibly gone over well. "How bad was it?"

"Bad. He was extremely upset. He felt like he'd been victimized all over again," Ducky said sadly.

"He was," Gibbs said. That video alone was a violation. It might have even been worse than the act itself because it made it public. Sure, only he, Tony, and Ziva has seen it, but that was three people too many. It was certainly enough to make McGee feel violated all over again. "So what happened? You said you couldn't stay with McGee. Why?"

"Because he left. I tried to get him to stay or even to allow me to go with him, but he wouldn't. He wouldn't even let me drive him home. Jethro, this thing is tearing him apart. He blames himself," Ducky said.

"What?" Gibbs asked as if the notion was ridiculous. It was ridiculous. McGee was the victim here. He was the last one to blame for this. Gibbs couldn't even fathom how he could possibly even think he was to blame.

"Unfortunately, most victims of rape blame themselves, especially male victims. Timothy feels like he should've done something to stop it," Ducky said.

"He was drugged. There's nothing he could've done," Gibbs said.

"I know that and you know that, but Timothy can't see it right now. All he can see is that this terrible thing happened to him and he didn't even try to stop it. It gets worse though."

"How can it possibly get any worse than McGee being raped, videoed being raped, and now blaming himself?" Gibbs asked. If it could get any worse than that, he wasn't sure he wanted to know about it. This was truly the worse thing any of his people had ever been through. It probably even beat Kate's death. At least she hadn't felt pain. Tim would feel this pain for the rest of his life.

"He believes that you and others feel the same way he does. That this is his fault," Ducky said.

"That's crap!" Gibbs exclaimed. Nobody blamed McGee for this. Hell, Tony had spent the last day blaming himself for what happened. He was probably upstairs still blaming himself for what happened.

"I know that, Jethro. I know you would never blame Timothy, nor would Anthony or Ziva. And if Timothy were thinking logically, he would realize that too. But Timothy isn't capable of feeling logically right now. He probably won't be for quite some time. Rape victims rarely think clearly. They blame themselves and they feel like everyone around them blames them too," Ducky explains.

"Well, that's not going to happen with McGee, not for long," Gibbs said firmly before heading towards the elevator.

"Jethro, where are you going?" Ducky asked.

"Where do you think?" Gibbs asked before disappearing in the elevator.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Ziva was hard to work at her computer. When she explained her theory regarding Jeanne Benoit, he told her to look into her past for indications that she was capable of such an act. She hadn't been able to find anything though. The woman was sneaky clean. But Ziva's gut was telling her that Tony's ex was not so innocent. Maybe she had been before, but not anymore. She'd proved that she could be vicious when she accused Tony of murder. Who knew what else she was capable of doing.

Ziva did not see Tony appear behind her. "What are you doing?

Ziva immediately clicked out of what she was doing and turned to her partner. By the look on his face though, she was too late. He'd already seen what she was doing.

"Is there a reason my ex-girlfriend's name and face were on your screen?" Tony asked.

"Uh…"

"We're supposed to be investigating what happened to McGee, not investigation each other's past relationships," Tony said irritably. The subject of Jeanne was very touchy for him even now, but that wasn't the point. Even he understood that this was not the time to go snooping into each other's private lives. Their attention needed to be focused on McGee and what happened to him.

"It is not what you think, Tony," Ziva said.

"Really? Because it seems to me that your investigation my exes while you should be concentrating on the animals who call themselves woman that attacked our friend," Tony said angrily.

Ziva sighed. She was going to have to tell him now. He would not let it go until she did. "Tony, I am sorry. I wish I did not have to tell you this, but it looks like Jeanne may have been involved in McGee's rape."

"What?" Tony asked in disbelief. That didn't even make sense. Why would Jeanne want to hurt McGee? She didn't even know him. And what could possibly make Ziva think she would.

"Tony, they sent the video to you. Not Gibbs, not NCIS, you."

"A…are you saying this was about me?" Tony asked as guilt and horror crept around every inch of his body. If that was true. If this had happened because of him, he would never forgive himself. Hell, he would already never forgive himself for leaving McGee that night, but this was so much worse.

"Gibbs believes it is possible. The woman you went out with was one of them and she sent you the video," Ziva said.

"Oh, God," Tony said. He felt like he was going to throw up. The thought of him being responsible for all this made him want to throw up.

Ziva felt the urge to comfort him, but forced herself to hold it in for now. She had to finish telling him everything now or she never would. "I am sorry, Tony, but it gets worse. The drug McGee was given is highly dangerous if you do not know how to use it. McGee has not suffered any affects from the prolonged exposure to it, so that leads me to believe that someone knew their way around medications."

"Jeanne," Tony whispered.

"Yes. Now I am not saying that she did it, but I think the possibility needs to be explored," Ziva said.

"You're right. It does," Tony said before turning around and heading for the elevator.

Ziva immediately stood up and rushed towards him. She grabbed ahold of his arm. "Tony, don't! Think about this?"

Tony yanked his arm free. "Think about what?! About the fact that my friend was practically destroyed because of me?! Trust me, I've been able to think of nothing else since I saw that damned video. Even if the attack itself had nothing to do with me, it's my fault for leaving him alone. This happened because of me and I can never change that. But I can take down whoever is responsible. And if that person is Jeanne. She will pay!" he vowed before walking into the elevator.


	10. Chapter 10

Gibbs approached Tim's apartment and knocked on the door. He waited a few moments and received no answer, so he knocked again. "McGee, it's Gibbs. Let me in."

Again there was no response.

Tim, I know you're in there. Open the door now!" Gibbs ordered.

Once again, no answer or even any hint that anyone was inside. Gibbs decided to try the door and found that it wasn't locked, so he went inside. The house was completely dark. There were no lights on and the shades were drawn.

Gibbs flipped the light switch by the door. When the light came on, he saw Tim on the floor by the couch. He was surrounded by vodka bottles and unconscious.

Gibbs immediately ran to his agent's side and started trying to shake him awake. "Tim, wake up. Come on."

There was no response.

Gibbs continued to shake his agent. He knew the man was drunk as hell. There were two empty bottles and another that was half empty. His agent had consumed a dangerous amount of liquor in a very short amount of time. He needed to get him up now.

After a minute of receiving no response from the young agent, Gibbs leaned over his chest to check his breathing. He was breathing, but it was very labored.

"Damn it," Gibbs said before taking out his phone and dialing 911. "Yes, this is Special Agent Gibbs with NCIS. I need an ambulance at the Green View apartments, apartment 12. I've got a friend in his mid-thirties. I think he's suffering from alcohol poisoning. Yeah, he's breathing, but not well. He needs medical attention. Alright, good," Gibbs said before hanging up the phone. Now all he could do was wait. Wait and pray his agent would be okay."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony approached the reception area of the hospital Jeanne worked. His hands were literally shaking from anger. The more he thought about the pain McGee had gone through and was still going through because of him, the angrier he became.

"Can I help you?" the receptionist asked.

"Is Doctor Benoit on duty?" Tony asked.

"Yes, she is, but she's busy at the moment. Can I take a…"

"I don't care. I need to talk to her now," Tony said. He had no intention of waiting. He was pissed and he wanted answers now.

"Sir, I told you, she's busy," the woman said calmly.

Tony slammed his hands down on the counter, causing the receptionist to flinch and back up in her chair. "Then get her unbusy! I'm not leaving until I talk to her!"

"What's going on out here?"

Tony turned to see that Jeanne had joined them from the back.

"Tony? What are you doing here?" Jeanne asked.

"Doctor Benoit, I tried to tell him you were busy, but he got increasingly agitated. Should I call security?" the receptionist asked.

"No, it's fine," Jeanne said before taking Tony's arm and attempting to lead him over to a vacant corner.

Tony yanked his arm free, but walked over with her.

"What the hell is wrong with you? What are you doing here?" Jeanne whispered harshly.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?! If you wanted to come after me, you should've come after _me_, not the people I care about!" Tony practically growled.

"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't even seen you in years, nor did I want to. What could I have possibly done to you? In fact, I'm pretty sure it's the other way around. You hurt me! You broke my heart!" Jeanne exclaimed as quietly as possible.

"And you could never let it go, could you? It didn't matter that I was doing my job or that your father was as guilty as sin. No, you had to have revenge. First you set me up for murder and when that didn't work out, you came after my partner. You ruined his life! Did you know that? Hell, you could've killed him! I read up on that drug. Rohypnol is dangerous if it's abused," Tony said.

Jeanne's face turned from anger to shock and sadness. "Rohypnol. Your friend was raped. Tony, I'm sorry."

"Oh, spare me your false sympathies! You don't give a damn that he was raped. You arranged for it to happen!" Tony yelled.

"How could you think that? How could you ever think that I could do that to somebody?" Jeanne asked, taking a tone of disbelief.

"You set me up for murder!" Tony reminded her angrily.

"Yeah, I set _you_ up. I was angry with _you. _I wanted _you_ to pay. I don't even know this person you're talking about. Why would I hurt him? Whoever he is, he didn't hurt me, you did. If I would attack anybody, it would be you," Jeanne said.

"So it's just a coincidence that the person who drugged him was able to give him the exact right amount every time? No, I'm not buying that. The person who did this had medical experience," Tony said.

"And you think I'm the only person you've ever pissed off that does?" Jeanne asked.

Tony didn't have a chance to respond because at that moment, two EMT's came in wheeling a gurney in with Gibbs trailing behind them.

Jeanne and Tony immediately went over. "What do we have?"

"Male in his mid-thirties probably suffering from alcohol poisoning. He's a Navy cop. We were gonna take him to Bethesda, but he lost consciousness on the way," one of the medics said.

Tony's eyes bulged when he saw that it was McGee. "Oh my God. McGee."

"Was he conscious at all?" Jeanne asked.

"No. I found him unconscious," Gibbs said.

"Okay, let's get him into Trauma One," Jeanne said before going to help wheel him in.

Tony grabbed her arm to stop her. "No! You're not touching him! This is all your fault. I'm not going to let you hurt him again!"

"For the last time, Tony, I did not hurt your friend. But you will be if you don't let me do my job," Jeanne said.

"Let her go, DiNozzo," Gibbs ordered. He didn't like it anymore than Tony, but Tim needed help now. He couldn't wait for another doctor.

"But Boss…"

"Now, Tony," Gibbs said.

"If anything happens to him, I'm coming after you," Tony warned.

"And we won't be alone," Gibbs told her dangerously.

Jeanne nodded curtly before wheeling her ex's friend towards Trauma One.


	11. Chapter 11

Ziva was at her desk continuing her search for suspects in what happened to McGee. While Jeanne Benoit was a viable suspect, she wasn't necessarily the only suspect. Both Tony and McGee had enemies since joining NCIS. Some of them might even have medical knowledge.

"Where's Tony?"

Ziva looked up to see Abby with her hands on her hips. She did not look happy. "He left."

"Hiding I bet. You'll never believe the things he said to me earlier," Abby said. She'd been too shocked to react to Tony's attitude before, and then she had been trying to figure out why he'd said it, but the more she thought about it, the less she cared why. Now she was just angry and wanted to yell at him.

Ziva sighed. "Abby, things have been a bit… difficult lately. Tony is very on edge right now. He probably just overreacted." They were all upset, but no one more than Tony and McGee. McGee for obvious reasons and Tony because he blamed himself. He'd blamed himself even before finding out that it was done to hurt him and that Jeanne might be responsible. Now that he did know, it was even worse. He was consumed with guilt and anger.

"That's no excuse. I don't talk to him like that when I'm upset," Abby said.

Ziva nearly raised an eyebrow. That was such a lie it was almost laughable. In fact, if things weren't so horrible right now, she probably would laugh. Now she wasn't even going to call the Goth on the lie because she didn't want to get into it right now.

"Besides, what could he be one edge about? There are no cases. It's a light week. I mean Gibbs' kinda pissed because McGee's been a flake lately, but that's all," Abby said.

"Is that what you said to Tony?" Ziva asked. If it was, she could see why Tony would get so upset. Abby probably didn't mean anything by it, but right now, about every one of them would jump down her throat over something like that.

"More or less. McGee was supposed to help me out last weekend and he never showed. Then he showed up late for work yesterday and didn't come at all today. I said he was unreliable," Abby said.

Ziva just stared at her for a minute. "I stand corrected. Tony did not overreact. How could you say something like that, Abby? McGee does everything for you. All you have to do is ask and he's there. He is loyal to you almost to a fault. So he missed on thing. That does not make him a criminal!"

"Now you too? Where's Gibbs?" Abby asked. She needed to talk to someone who would understand. Gibbs would understand. He would see that she was right about how McGee was acting.

"Do not expect Gibbs to defend you. Not this time," Ziva said. She then heard her phone ring and immediately picked it up. "David. Tony, is everything okay? Did you find…? What?! Okay, I will get Ducky and we will be there," she said before hanging up.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked. She knew something was wrong because Ziva's voice changed to fear and worry while she was on the phone.

Ziva stood up and grabbed her jacket. "The man you call unreliable is in the ER right now. If you have any interest in him at all, follow me," she said before heading for the elevator.

Abby immediately ran to catch up with Ziva.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Tony stood out the window the exam room Tim was in. He hadn't left the position since Jeanne had wheeled him in there. He didn't know why, but he felt he was protecting the younger man by doing it. True, he wouldn't be able to stop Jeanne if she tried to hurt Tim or even know that that was what she was doing, but maybe if she saw him, she'd think twice.

"Tony, would ya come over here and sit down? Staring through that window's not gonna make them come out any faster," Gibbs said from his seat just a few feet away.

Tony stayed rooted in spot. "I'm not leaving him. I left him alone once and he destroyed. I won't do that again."

"It's not your fault, Tony," Gibbs said.

"Yeah, it is. No matter how you twist it, it's my fault. They came after him because of me," Tony said.

"We don't know that for sure. Yeah, it's a theory, but that's all it is," Gibbs said. Actually it was a bit more than a theory, but Tony didn't need to hear that right now.

"It doesn't matter. Even if it had nothing to do with me, I left him alone. If I hadn't, none of this would've happened," Tony said. No matter who did this, if he had just stayed and protected his partner's six, none of this would've every happened.

Just then, Ducky, Ziva, and Abby rushed in. "Jethro, how is he?"

Gibbs stood up. "They're still with him."

"What happened to him?" Abby asked.

Before Gibbs got the chance to answer, the doors to the exam room opened and Jeanne stepped out.

Tony, being the closest, made it to her first, followed by the others. "Well?"

"EMT's were right. He suffered alcohol poisoning. I'm still waiting for the blood work, but I'm guessing it's going to show that he exceeded the safe limit for alcohol consumption," Jeanne said.

"Alcohol poisoning? That's ridiculous. McGee barely ever drinks," Abby said. The idea of McGee drinking so much that he had to be hospitalized was laughable to her.

"Are you sure it was alcohol and not the drugs?" Ziva asked.

"Wait, drugs? Has everyone gone insane? McGee doesn't do drugs," Abby said.

"No, Ziva, those would've exited his system by now," Ducky said.

"He gonna be okay?" Gibbs asked.

Jeanne nodded. "We've put him on oxygen and he's breathing on his own. We've also started him on fluids. He should be okay."

"I'm going to see him," Tony said.

"I'll come with you," Gibbs said before following his agent. He turned around at the last second though. "Oh, and Doctor Benoit? Don't go too far. You and I are gonna have a chat really soon."

Jeanne nodded.

Gibbs stared at her for a minute and then followed Tony into the exam room.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony sat next to Tim's bedside while Gibbs stood behind them. Tim was still asleep and therefore oblivious to their presence. "You don't think she did anything to him, do you, Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs didn't need further clarification. He knew tony was talking about Jeanne and about when she was treating McGee. "Only if she has a death wish."

"Well, it's not like she hasn't done enough to him already," Tony said bitterly.

"Maybe. We don't know that she's responsible. Which is why I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you coming here and confronting her when we didn't have all the facts," Gibbs said with a bit of irritation in his voice. He hadn't voiced his annoyance earlier because McGee was in trouble, but now that he knew his agent would be okay, he could deal with Tony.

"I was angry, okay? I wanted her to answer for what she did," Tony said.

"And if she did it, she will? However, now we don't have the element of surprise anymore. She knows that we consider her a suspect and that will give her time to prepare a defense," Gibbs said.

"I…I didn't think of that," Tony admitted. He really hadn't thought about anything except for the fact that his friend was in agony.

"That's pretty obvious, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

"Look, I was mad, okay? When Ziva told me, all I could see is Jeanne watching while those women violated Tim over and over again just to hurt me. It didn't help that I was already pissed at Abby," Tony said. He would've been furious even without his fight with Abby, but that had already had him fuming, so it added to the fire.

Gibbs frowned. "Why? Why were you mad at Abby?"

Before Tony had the chance to respond, the door opened revealing Ducky. "Jethro, I don't mean to interrupt, but there's a problem. Abigail is trying to come in to see Timothy, but Ziva is trying to stop her."

Tony whirled around to Ducky. "Good! Abby shouldn't even be here. She has no business anywhere near McGee."

"Hey. I get that you're pissed about what happened with McGee, but now is not the time to start taking it out on each other. Abby cares about McGee just as much as the rest of us," Gibbs lectured.

"No, she doesn't. If she did, she wouldn't have said what she said," Tony said angrily.

"What did she say, Anthony?" Ducky said.

"That because he didn't show up for this past weekend, you know when he was busy being drugged and raped, that he was unreliable," Tony practically growled. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. There was not a person alive more reliable than Timothy McGee. That Abby could even say such a thing with a straight face was unbelievable.

"What?" Gibbs asked in a dangerously quiet voice.

"Yeah. Tim had just survived the weekend from hell and then he had to come back and deal with Abby. She didn't even wonder if he was okay," Tony ranted.

"None of us did that, Tony," Gibbs said guiltily. They were all guilty of not realizing that something might have been wrong with their colleague when he didn't show up to work and they should've. They should've known that he wouldn't blow anyone off for no reason. Hell, even when he lied about being sick to help his sister he had a reason. They all should've known he wouldn't just not show up.

Tony sighed. "Yeah, but we didn't say anything even close to that horrible. She's acting like he's a horrible person because he didn't do one thing that he asked her. I don't think one day trumps all the years he's stood by her."

"No, it doesn't. Excuse me," Gibbs said before making his way out of the room. He walked into the waiting room and found Abby and Ziva fighting.

"I do not care. You are not going in there," Ziva said. She'd brought Abby with her because she thought maybe the woman would realize that she'd treated McGee badly and try to fix it, but all she'd talked about since they'd learned about McGee's condition was how stupid and selfish it had been of him to drink to such access. She didn't belong anywhere near him.

"You can't stop me! He's my best friend!" Abby yelled.

"Then maybe you should try acting like it!" Ziva yelled back.

"Hey!" Gibbs yelled over both of them, causing them both to stop and turn to him. "This is a hospital for God's sake. Knock it off!"

"Gibbs, Ziva's trying to stop me from seeing McGee," Abby said.

"I do not deny this," Ziva said.

"I got one question for you, Abs. Whether you see McGee depends on your answer. Did you tell McGee he was unreliable?"

"Well, yes, but…"

"Then I agree with Ziva. You don't belong anywhere near McGee right now," Gibbs said. McGee needed to be around people that wanted to help though the hell he was going through right now, not someone who was going undermine his recovery.

"Gibbs, you can't be serious. You thought the same thing when he didn't show up on time yesterday," Abby said.

"No, I didn't. I was angry and I lashed out at him when I shouldn't have, but I never said he was unreliable. And you know why? Because it's not true!" Gibbs said firmly.

"But, Gibbs, he…"

"No! I don't care that he missed one thing that he told you he'd do. He has been there for you time and time again. He has done things for you that no one should be expected to do. Who do you think you are calling him unreliable? He's the most reliable person on this team," Gibbs said.

"But what about him not showing up for work today? Instead he was at him pouring alcohol down his throat. How is that reliable?" Abby asked. She couldn't believe everyone was against her. Why were they defending him over her after all the bad choices he made?

"He didn't show up because he's on Leave until further notice. Getting drunk wasn't a smart move, but it's not one I'm going to condemn him for either. He's going through hell right now," Gibbs said.

"What are you talking about? What happened to McGee?" Abby asked as she started to get a little worried.

"It is none of your business!" Ziva growled.

"If McGee wants you to know, he'll tell you himself. However, it won't be tonight. You're not getting near him until he can decide for himself that he wants to see you. Go home," Gibbs ordered.

Abby just looked at them both for a minute before silently walking away.


	13. Chapter 13

Tim felt like hell when he finally woke up. His head was killing him, he felt nauseous, and he was extremely thirsty. Somebody must have been a mind reader because just as he thought this, a glass of water was held out for him. He opened his eyes more and saw that it was Tony.

"I thought you could use this," Tony said as he held out the cup.

Tim took the offered cup and drank it all in one gulp. "Thanks. Where am I?" He wasn't alert enough to figure that much out yet.

"The hospital. You tried to drink your entire liquor cabinet and that never goes over well." Tony said. Despite the joke, there was no humor in his voice.

"I did? I don't remember drinking that much," Tim said. He did remember drinking, but he didn't remember drinking so much that it would put him in the hospital.

"Yeah. Gibbs said you drank nearly two bottles of Vodka," Tony told him.

"Gibbs? What was he doing there?" Tim asked in confusion. He didn't remember Gibbs being there. Though he supposed that probably happened after he blacked out.

"He was checking up on you. It's a good thing he did too. He got you help. You had alcohol poisoning. You almost died," Tony said seriously.

"He should've let me," Tim said simply.

That one statement sent shivers down Tony's spine. The thought of his friend wishing for death was almost too much for him to bear. Somehow though, he managed to stop himself from losing it. "Tim, were you trying to kill yourself?"

"No. I was trying to stop feeling for a few minutes. I'm just not sure death would be worse than what I'm feeling now," Tim said. A large part him felt like he was better off dead. He wasn't suicidal or anything. But that didn't mean that a part of him didn't wish he was dead. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to help you," Tony said as though it were obvious.

Tim stiffened and looked away. "Yes, well, I appreciate it, but you don't need to be here."

"It's not about me needed to be here. I want to be," Tony told him.

"Because you feel sorry for me. I don't need your pity, Tony," Tim said. That would be even worse than the man telling Jokes about it. Pity would just remind him of how pathetic everyone must think he was.

"I don't pity you, McGee. Am I sorry for what happened to you? More than you'll ever know, but that doesn't mean I pity you," Tony said.

"Don't feel sorry for me. I got what I deserved for being so stupid," Tim said.

Tony could hardly believe his ears. McGee was blaming himself for this? Why? He hadn't asked to get raped. He hadn't asked Tony to leave him alone to be raped. This was his fault, not McGee's. "This is not your fault, man."

"You've never lied to spare my feelings before, please don't start now," Tim begged.

"I'm not! This isn't your fault! How can you think it was? You were drugged," Tony said.

"Because I allowed myself to be drugged! I took a drink from someone I didn't know. God, kids are taught better than that. I shouldn't have been so stupid. I'm a federal agent for God's sake," Tim said.

"So am I. I'm the one who told you to take that drink and to talk to the girl. You didn't want to, remember? And what about me? I've taken that drink a billion times and nothing happened. Why didn't it ever happen before? Why now?" Tony asked. He wasn't really talking to Tim anymore. He was asking himself. He couldn't stop thinking about it. He'd been offered drinks by woman countless times and he always took them, despite the fact that he had been a cop and had seen quite a few cases of women being violated in such a way. But that was just it. This type of thing happened to women. Men weren't date raped. It just didn't happen. Except that it did. His partner was living proof that it happened. Tony should've known better than to let stereotypes allow him to be reckless with his safety and McGee's.

Tim looked at his friend like he'd grown a second head. He could hardly believe it, but it sounded like Tony was blaming himself. But that didn't compute. Tim was the one that allowed himself to be raped, not Tony. He was the one that took the drink. No one forced it down his throat. He was responsible for his own fate. "Tony, you don't think you're responsible for this, do you?"

Tony looked back up at his friend. "No, Tim, I don't think I'm responsible. I am responsible. I shouldn't have pressured you into coming out with me. And I definitely shouldn't have left you there alone."

Tim was thrown for a loop. It just never occurred to him that Tony would blame himself. He just assumed that everyone would see him as the pathetic weakling who let this happen to him. It was how he viewed himself and how he knew his father would view it if he ever found. Hell, he could practically hear the Admiral coming down on him. For once he'd be right. He and he alone was responsible. "Tony, no. You didn't know what would happen. You couldn't have known she would spike my drink."

"You mean like you couldn't have?" Tony turned around. He saw his opening to try to get Tim to stop blaming himself and he was gonna take it.

"That's different. It was my personal responsibility. I shouldn't have been stupid enough to take the drink. You didn't force me to take it. It's not your fault."

"Yeah, it is. More than you'll ever know," Tony said as he thought about Jeanne and the probability that she was responsible. He couldn't bring himself to tell McGee about that though. He couldn't bear the look he would give him when he realized Tony really was responsible.

Tim opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off when a male doctor came in.

"Good morning. I'm afraid I'm going to need the room for a moment, sir," the doctor told Tony.

"Where's Jeanne? Uh, Doctor Benoit?" Tony corrected. Not that he wanted her there. He was just wondering where she was.

"Oh, her shift just ended. Besides, she thought it would be a good idea to transfer this patient to someone else, so I'll be taking over," the doctor explained.

Tony nodded and headed out the door.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Jeanne had exited the hospital and was headed for her car when a voice called out from behind her.

"Doctor Benoit."

Jeanne turned to see that it was Gibbs. "Agent Gibbs."

"Gibbs approached her. "It's time for you and me to have a chat.


	14. Chapter 14

Gibbs sat across from Jeanne Benoit in an interrogation room at NCIS. "Where were you this past weekend?"

"Which part of it?" Jeanne asked.

"All of it. You need to account for your whereabouts from Friday night to Monday morning." Gibbs said.

Jeanne sighed. "Friday night, I was at the hospital. I worked a double shift. I didn't leave until eight the next morning."

"And then?" Gibbs asked.

"And then I went home and passed out. I spent most of the rest of the weekend sleeping off day before. Much like I would be doing now if I weren't here," Jeanne said, a bit irritated at being brought in after working such a long shift.

Gibbs didn't dignify her last comment with a response. "And I don't suppose anyone can verify that."

"I generally sleep alone," Jeanne said.

"You wish you didn't?" Gibbs asked.

"I don't spend my time being bitter about Tony and thinking of new ways to hurt him if that's what you're asking," Jeanne said.

"You setting him up to take the blame for your father's death says otherwise," Gibbs said.

"That was years ago. I've moved on since then. And by the way, I did that to _Tony_. I didn't go after someone else. And there's a big difference between setting someone who hurt you up for something and raping a man who never did anything to you," Jeanne said.

"Maybe you didn't rape him. Maybe you just arranged it and made sure he stayed out of it. Either way, you're guilty of the crime of rape. The crime recognizes everyone who participated, whether they actually committed the act or not," Gibbs said.

"I did not rape him, nor did I have any part in whatever happened to him," Jeanne said.

Gibbs glared icily at the woman. He'd tried to keep his personal feeling aside, but it wasn't working. The more he thought about what happened, the angrier he became. "He has a name. Timothy McGee. He's a good agent and a good man. And what happened him was that he was picked up at a bar. His drink was spiked with Rohypnol so that he wouldn't remember what happened the next day."

"I know what Rohypnol is used for," Jeanne said carefully.

Gibbs continued as though she never spoke. "He was taken to a location we haven't been able to find. He was gang raped by two women over and over and over again for two days. And the whole time, he was being taped."

"I…I'm sorry about that. I really am. But it wasn't me. I wouldn't do something like that to anybody," Jeanne said.

"How easy would it be for you to get your hands on Rohypnol?" Gibbs asked.

"Extremely. It would also be just as easy for a nurse, a med student, a pharmacist, even an orderly," Jeanne said.

"And would it be just as easy for all of those to calculate the appropriate dosage each and every time?" Gibbs asked.

Jeanne sighed. "I don't know what else to say to you. I did not attack Agent McGee and I didn't ask anyone else to. That's all I can say. Now you have no legal right to keep me here, so I'm leaving," she said before standing up and heading for the door.

Gibbs didn't try to stop her. She was right. He had no proof that she was responsible. All he had was a theory and he had no idea if it was right. Normally he had some kind of feeling, but not this time. This case was too personal. He couldn't think clearly enough for his gut to work this time.

Gibbs wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there before he heard a knock on the open door. He turned to see Ziva standing there. "Ziva, what are you doing here? You should be at the hospital.

"I thought I would be better served here," Ziva said. Honestly, she was afraid to see McGee. She wanted to see him, but she was afraid she would say something wrong. She was not the best in situations such as these. "Anyway, I just received a call from Tony. They are releasing McGee this afternoon."

"He can't go home alone," Gibbs said. This last incident proved that. He needed to be with someone until things got a little more stable.

"He will go home with Tony. At least that is what Tony wants. I do not know if McGee will agree," Ziva said.

"Tony will get him to agree," Gibbs said. Tony was very persuasive when he wanted to be. He would make Tim see that this was the best way.

"I saw Jeanne Benoit leave," Ziva commented.

"No legal reason to hold her. We have no prove she did it. We'll keep an eye on her, but for now, that's the best we can do. Right now, we need to look at other suspects. Doctor Benoit is not the only one with a grudge against Tony," Gibbs said.

"I will keep going on it. What do we do about Vance? He is going to start asking questions soon," Ziva said. It was only a matter of time before their boss snagged wind of an investigation, and with no legitimate cases, he was going to wonder what it was for and then he'd demand an explanation.

"When he starts asking questions, I'll handle it. Until then, we do nothing. The last thing McGee needs is more people finding out than necessary," Gibbs said. He knew part of the reason Tim hit bottom last night was because they knew. He wanted to prevent that from happing again if possible.

Ziva nodded. She was about to leave when her phone started ringing. She immediately took it out and answered it. "David. Yes. Alright, thank you."

"What is it?" Gibbs asked after she hung up the phone.

"I have just located one of the women who attacked McGee."

Gibbs immediately jumped up. "Let's move."

Ziva nodded and led the way out of the room.


	15. Chapter 15

Tony was standing outside Tim's hospital room with a cup of coffee. Tim had wanted some time alone, so he'd reluctantly agreed to leave. He wouldn't go far though. He would be close in case his friend needed him.

Ducky soon approached Tony. "Hello, Anthony. How is Timothy doing?"

Tony shook his head sadly. "I don't know, Ducky. He's so messed up. What happened last night is proof of that. He did say though that he didn't intend to hurt himself like he did."

"Do you believe him?" Ducky asked. He of course wanted to believe that Timothy was being truthful, but most didn't admit when they wanted to hurt themselves.

"Yeah, I think so. I think he was just trying to numb the pain unsuccessfully. It doesn't make it any less destructive though."

Ducky sighed. "No, it doesn't. I shouldn't have let him go off on his own. I should've known that being alone right after finding out that there was a tape of his assault wasn't a good idea."

"It's not your fault, Ducky. It's mine. This whole thing is my fault," Tony said guiltily.

"Anthony, it is not your fault," Ducky said firmly. He really wished people who were not responsible would stop blaming themselves. First Timothy and now Anthony. It had to stop. They were only giving the real perpetrators more power over them.

"Yeah, it is. McGee was attacked because of something that I did to somebody else. And even if he hadn't been, it still would've been my fault. I encouraged him to go with that girl. He didn't want to. He just wanted to go home. I put him in the position for something bad to happen to him," Tony said.

"Anthony, no one could've foreseen something like this happening," Ducky told him.

"I should've. Not only am I a federal agent, I was a cop. I was no stranger to date rape. I just never thought it would happen to a guy. I know how horrible that is to say, to even think, but it's the truth. I screwed up, and I keep screwing up," Tony said. He was of course referring to the stupid decision to confront Jeanne.

"What do you mean by that?" Ducky wondered.

"When I found out that Jeanne might be the one to organize this whole thing, I got so angry. My first impulse was to come here and confront her, and I did. It was a mistake to do that. Initial training taught me that you don't tip your hand to a suspect, yet that was exactly what I did," Tony explained. He had been thinking about it since Gibbs confronted him. He was right. It was a mistake to go after Jeanne without all the facts.

"You were angry, and justifiably so. You were trying to help your partner get justice," Ducky said.

"And instead, I might have made it worse. Now she has time cover her tracks," Tony said.

"If she's guilty. Do you think she is?" Ducky asked.

"I don't know. I'd like to believe that I didn't fall in love with someone capable of this, but then again I didn't think I fell in love with someone capable of framing me for murder. But then again, she did that to me, not anyone else. I don't know. I just know that whoever did this has to pay. They have to pay!" Tony said firmly.

"I guarantee you they will. Jethro will not rest until they do."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Gibbs and Ziva pulled up in front of a small house. There was a woman just getting out of her car that fit their suspect's description.

Ziva immediately began to get out of the car. She was going to tear this miserable excuse for a woman limb from limb.

Gibbs grabbed her arm to stop her. "Ziva, wait. There cannot be the slightest hint of impropriety here. You cannot attack this woman."

"She attacked McGee!" Ziva said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, and she'll pay, but getting accused of police brutality isn't going to help, McGee. If anything, it'll just make his pain worse. We have to be careful here," Gibbs said.

"Fine," she said. She didn't like not being able beat the woman to a pulp, but as long as she paid, Ziva could live with it.

They both immediately got out of the car and headed for the woman who was now making her way to the door. "Melanie Daniels!" Gibbs called.

The woman turned to them, dropped her purse, and then ran in the other direction.

Ziva immediately followed. Because Ziva was much faster, the woman only made it a little ways down the street before tackling her to the ground. She heard her groan as she hit the pavement and couldn't help but smirk. She was glad that the person who caused her friend immense pain was now in pain herself. She only wished she could cause more.

Gibbs made it over just as Ziva was pulling was handcuffing the woman. He waited until she was on her feet before addressing the woman. "Melanie Daniels, you're under arrest for participating in the gang rape of a federal agent.

"A what?" Melanie asked, sounding shocked that the mad she hurt was a Fed.

"What's the matter? Did you not know that? Did you not even bother to find out who it was you were attacking? Or maybe it didn't matter to you. Maybe you just cared about hurting someone, anyone. You didn't care that the person you attacked would never hurt a fly. You certainly didn't care about what he did for a living. I bet you care now though," Gibbs said before leaning in close to her ear and whispering. "I am going to make it my life's mission to destroy you."

Gibbs stood back after a moment. "Let's read her her rights and get her out of here."

Ziva none too gently pulled Melanie towards the car while reading her her rights


End file.
